You want more madness?
Yes, it’s that time of the year to ink in the brackets and make up the always unbelievable excuse for why you get sick on the same Thursday every year.
A noteworthy bald-headed commentator for ESPN would say, “It’s the Madness, Baby!”
This year the field of 65 welcomes back the Virginia Cavaliers.
The real question is: Does this team need any more “madness”?
The 2006-2007 Virginia men’s basketball season has had more twists and turns then the paternity investigation into Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter’s father.
 Will it be the Full Monty for ‘Hoos fans if Virginia wins the NCAA title? |
From the Michael–Buffer-opening-of-John Paul Jones Arena-comeback-win-vs.-Arizona to a mediocre beginning to the debacle in Puerto Rico to a three-game ACC losing streak to a seven-game ACC winning streak (including the shot of the year by Sean Singletary against Duke) to the beatdown in Blacksburg to the how- did-they-get-that-win-vs.-Georgia Tech? to the Virginia Tech redemption in Charlottesville to a few hours later when North Carolina fell apart to Georgia Tech putting the Cavaliers atop the conference to the collapse at Wake Forest 40 hours later.
Any true orange-and-blue fan has already swallowed enough Maalox to get through the regular season, that he should have a good base in his belly for tip-off Thursday.
“In the NCAA tournament, there will be inordinate amount of upsets, or one would perceive to be an upset, but in reality the only upset is that there is a team that carries a little bit more of an emotional high then the other,” said Virginia basketball Head Coach Dave Leitao, who has been to the tournament with the University of Connecticut as an assistant under Jim Calhoun. “And it sounds corny with all that’s on the line to talk about it in that way but there’s going to be something that happens for your team and against your team and how you respond to those will mean if you make more plays as the game grows older.”
Virginia’s return to the NCAA tournament is their first appearance since March 16, 2001, under Pete Gillen, when the Cavaliers fell short to Gonzaga 86-85.
Leitao has made good on his verbal vision for this team when he spoke at his hiring April 16, 2005.
Virginia was selected to finish eighth in the conference preseason rankings, so while the missed opportunity to win the conference outright with a regular season-ending loss to Wake Forest was disappointing, a shared title with North Carolina needs to be noted as an accomplishment.
“It’s a learning experience,” said Leitao, the ACC Coach of the Year. “Everything we do right now is still uncharted territory and sitting here calling ourselves champions or being in first place in this league is uncharted territory for all these guys and all the things we’ve been able to do are all first-time experiences.”
There’s a first for everything and the NCAA will be just that in a few short hours.
Bust out the excuses for work, the brackets, and the Maalox. Wahoos, the madness is about to get elevated.
Wes McElroy hosts “The Final Round” on ESPN 840am. M-F 4pm-6pm.